Visualizing Genius, Representing Neurodiversity? Graphic Novel Portrayals of Beethoven’s Life and Music (The 2025 Friends of Germanic Studies Lecture)

Speaker: Ben Schofield (University of Bristol)

2020 marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, celebrated by events throughout that year to celebrate his musical ‘genius’ and his continued impact as a ‘maverick, rebel, [and] visionary’ in the world of music. This talk will explore the representation of Beethoven’s ‘genius’ in a number of graphic novels also released to celebrate his anniversary, including Mikael Ross’ Goldjunge: Beethovens Jugendjahre; Mortiz Stetter’s Mythos Beethoven; and Deutsche Grammophon’s project The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology (Frank Marraffino/Brandon Montclare). It will consider how musical ‘genius’ is represented visually in these graphic novels. In so doing it will also ask: to what extent do these visual narratives present Beethoven’s musical ‘genius’ as a form of super-ability, in the comic book tradition? And how is this linked to their representation of dis/ability and neurodivergence: factors also frequently raised in accounts of Beethoven’s ‘genius’? 

Ben Schofield is Associate Professor in German and Head of Department of German at the University of Bristol. 

This lecture will take place in person in Senate House and will be available online via Zoom. Refreshments will be available following. Attendance is free, but advance online registration is essential. Please select the appropriate ticket when booking. 

Image: Perrant,  Ludwig van Beethoven: dal cuore posso andare nuovamente al cuore (G. Guida; illustration marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth) via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.